Railway braking apparatus



July 7, 1964 v. JEFFERSON RAILWAY BRAKING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 20, 1962 v. JEFFERSON 3,139,954

RAILWAY BRAKING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 N #1? fig P mm mm Q\\\\\\m\\\\\ Ill! ww w \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\wm s 1 mm Q% P s QM ly 1964 e. v. JEFFERSON 'RAILWAY BRAKING APPARATUS Filed Feb.

,v 2 3 M A 7 m m 0 d n l a T 7. T M Z w, MM /A a 8 6 s 6 7 w M U m 0 Y A m Lb z a T I .u L w 1 m A 5. u y. A AM "w A A w u A w m m w United States Patent 3,139,954 RAILWAY BRAKING APPARATUS Glen V. Jeiferson, Lincoln, Nehru, assignor to Westinghouse Air Brake Company, Wilmerding, Pa., 21 corporation of Pennsylvania Filed'Feh. 20, 1962, Ser. No. 174,584 15 Claims. (Cl; 188--62) This invention relates to railway braking apparatus, and particularly to that class of braking apparatus known as car retarders. More particularly, the present invention relates to car retarders wherein the amount of braking force exerted on each car is proportional to the weight of the car.

Car retarding apparatus of the general type contemplated in the present invention is extensively employed in various sections of classification yards to control the speed of moving cars within the yard. Such apparatus is usually mounted on opposite sides of one or both rails and consists of groupsof levers onto which braking beams have been mounted and arranged to press against the sides of the car wheels as they pass through the retarder. Although various constructions and arrangements of this type of apparatus are known. and used at the present time, none are wholly satisfactory when considered from such practical standpoints as simplicity of construction, ease of assembly and disassembly, ease of adjustability to compensate for wear, and cost of manufacture.

It is a principal and general object of the present invention to provide a car retarding apparatus which constitutes an improvement over car retarders known and used hereto-fore from the standpoints noted above.

A- more specific object of the present invention isto provide car retarding apparatus, the braking force of which is proportional to the weight. of the car.

Another object of the invention is the provision of car retarding apparatus which can be readily adjusted to compensate for wear.

A. still further object of the invention is toprovide car retarding apparatus which is of rugged construction and has a minimum of moving parts.

Generally speaking, the car retarder of the present invention is used in connection with a vertically movable running rail and consists of a. pair of levers mounted for limited vertical movement with and on opposite sides of the rail. Each lever is pivotally mounted and is provided with a vertical arm which carries a brake beam and a horizontal arm which contains a support member connected with the rail. Fastener means is secured to each support member to prevent lateral movement of the levers away from the rail and to adjust the spacing between the brake beams.

A complete understanding of the embodiments. of the invention and an introduction to other objects and features not specifically mentioned may be had from the detailed description of the embodiments thereof when read in conjunction with the appended drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one form of car retarding apparatus embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the car retarder shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view partially in section taken substantially on the line-IIIIII of FIG. 1, which shows in detail the construction of the car retarding apparatus applied toone of the rails.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view, shown partially in section, of one form of lever used in connection with the car retarder shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view partially in section taken on the line VV of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a view in perspective of a support member on which the levers comprising the car retarding apparatus of FIG. 3 are mounted.

FIG. 7 is a view partially in section taken on line VIIVII of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of a car retarding unit, shown partially in cross section, which is. similar to the apparatus illustrated in the preceding drawings, but illustrates a diiferent manner of coupling the support members to the rail.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the car retarder shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a view of the car retarder of FIG. 8 as it appears when viewed from the left of FIG. 8.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the views.

Referring now to. FIGS. 1 and 2, the reference characters 1.0 and 12 designate the rails of a stretch of railway track over which the wheels of cars to be retarded by the braking apparatus embodying the invention are adapted to pass in the direction indicated by the arrow. As shown, rails 16 and 12 are fastened to the ends of stock rails 14 in the usual manner by means of rail joints 16. The spikes for securing the stock rails 14 allow sufficient vertical lift of the rail for a suitable distance outside the ends of the retarder to permit the running rail in the retarder to lift. For example, in a 33 foot retarder approximately one-half inch of vertical movement is permitted for a distance of approximately six feet outside of the retarder. The fastening of rails 10 and 12 to the stock rails at the other end of the retarder (not shown) is eiiected in a correspondingly similar manner.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the opposite running rail 12 is mounted on tie plates 22 elevated to a specific height by means of filler blocks 24 secured firmly to tie 20. As shown, filler blocks 24 are located between tie plates 22 and the top of supporting ties 20. As a result, vertical movement of rail 12 is prevented. Moreover, due to the elevation provided by filler blocks 24, the running surface of rail 12 is raised to a plane which is essentially level with the running surface of rail 10 when rail 10 is in the position shown in FIG. 3. A guard rail 26 may be secured to rail 12, in the manner shown. Longitudinal stability of the retarder is achieved by providing a tie strap 28 (FIG. 1) extending parallel to the rails and across a number of adjacent ties located within the retarder. The possibility of the tipping of rail 10 is prevented by stabilizer beams 29, which also provide trans verse stability, only one being shown in FIG. 1, which secures rail 10 at spaced intervals to the opposite running rail 12.

As best shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of pairs of lever units 30 and 32 is spaced along the sides of rail 10, with the levers in each pair arranged in staggered relationship to each other on opposite sides of the rail. Each pair of these lever units, as illustrated in FIG. 3, is comprised of a vertical arm 34 and a horizontal arm 36. The horizontal arm 36 of each lever is positioned substantially perpendicular to rail ill and is formed internally with a cylindrical cavity 38 reduced in diameter at one end, as indicated at 40. The opposite end of cavity 38 in arm 3 36 opens, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5, onto a threesided orthogonal groove having a base surface 42 and upstanding sides 44 and 46 tapered downwardly beneath rail 10.

Received within cavity 38 in each of levers 3i and 32 is a support member 48, having the general form of a hook bolt as shown in FIG. 6, the function of which is to secure and support the levers relative to rail 10. In order to prevent rotation of the levers relative to the support members 48, the orthogonal groove in each of the levers is occupied by a correspondingly shaped square portion 48a formed adjacent the hook end 4812 of member 43. This arrangement and construction is best shown in FIG. 3, and effectively serves to key the support members and levers together. Furthermore, in order to permit longitudinal adjustment of the levers on the support members toward and away from rail it), suflicient clearance exists between the periphery of support members 48 and the interior walls of cavity 38 within the levers.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the inner ends of support members 48 pass under rail It), and are formed with hooks or jaws 48b which fit over and grip the base of the rail 10. When the support members 48 of each pair of levers are in position, it can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 3 that the greater portion of the base of rail Which lies within the retarder of this system is cradled in and supported by the jaws or hooks 48b of the support members. The positioning and adjustment of levers 30 and 32 laterally with respect to the rail 10, when no car is in the retarder, is achieved by means of nuts 50 which are fastened onto the threaded outer ends 48c of the support members. As a result, movement of levers 30, 32 outwardly from rail it during an application of braking force as when the wheels of a car are in the retarder, is prevented due to the restraining effort offered by nuts 50 against the outer ends of the levers.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, and 7, a thrust plate 52, in the form of a U-shaped channel member, is positioned beneath rail 10 and is of sufficient width and length to receive and contain, in side-by-side relation, the horizontal end portions of levers 3t and 32 in which the threesided orthogonal groove is formed. As shown, the base of thrust plate 52 rests on the top of tie 2t and is secured thereto by conventional means not shown. The sides 52a and 52b of plate 52 are substantially perpendicular to the base and are of sufficient height and strength to support the sides 44 and 46 of levers 3t) and 32 against lateral movement while at the same time sides 52a and 52b are sufiiciently separated to permit vertical movement of the levers within the U-shaped thrust plate. As a result of this arrangement and construction, any appreciable lateral movement of the levers in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of rail 16 is prevented and any forces tending to cause this movement are dissipated through the thrust plate, the supporting tie and into the surrounding track bed.

In order to provide support for and to permit pivotal vertical movement of the levers, in a manner presently described, the underside or base portion of each lever is provided with integrally formed inner, intermediate and outer legs 56, 57 and 58, respectively. Ordinarily, when there is no car wheel in the retarder, the outer leg 58 of each lever rests on a bearing plate 69 which is positioned directly beneath it and securely fastened to the top of tie 20, and the inner leg 56 rests on the base of thrust plate 52, as seen in FIG. 3. However, when a car wheel is in the retarder moving along rail 10, levers 3t) and 32 are forced apart and vertically upwardly, in a manner to be described, raising inner leg 56 up from its resting position on plate 52 and causing outer leg 58 to pivot on bearing plate 50. Thus it can be seen that plate 60 also serves as a fulcrum point for leg 58 when a Wheel is in the retarder.

It is generally desirable that the car wheel make as smooth an entry into the retarder as practicable, in order to minimize the shock to the parts of the car retarding unit and also to the car and its contents. This can be achieved by reducing the braking force applied by the levers located near the entrance of the retarder. This is accomplished by moving the fulcrum points of the appropriate levers closer to rail 10, and, in practice, is effected by placing bearing plate 60 beneath intermediate leg 57. This arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 1, wherein bearing plates 69 are positioned intermediate the ends of each lever and beneath legs 57 in the first retarding unit. Assuming, for purposes of illustration, that the above-described arrangement of the first retarding unit will achieve the desired smooth entry of the car wheel, the second retarding unit in FIG. 1 is arranged to exert its maximum adjusted braking force against the wheel as a result of the positioning of bearing plate 60 beneath outer le 58.

The actual braking of a car is accomplished by the frictional engagement of a pair of brake beams 61 against the opposite sides of the wheels of the car which pass along rail 19 through the retarder. In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the brake beams 61 are in the form of continuous rail sections fastened, in any well-known manner as by nuts 35 and bolts 37, to the vertical arms 34 of levers 3t and 32. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to this particular construction since the brake beams may also take the form of sectionalized rails or individual brake shoes supported by vertical arms of the levers.

As best shown in FIG. 1, the entry portions of brake beams 61 are flared outwardly to facilitate a smooth entry of the car wheels between them. Furthermore, as illustrated, the inner brake beam, that is the one mounted on levers 32, projects slightly beyond the end of the oppositely positioned outer brake beam. Since both brake beams are identical in construction and symmetry, the opposite or exit end of the retarding apparatus is general- 1y similar to the entry end except for the fact that the outer brake beam extends beyond, that is, further along rail 10, than the inner brake beam. One advantage of this symmetrical nature of the brake beams is that they may be installed on either side of the rail.

The normal condition of the car retarder is as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, that is, with no wheel between brake beams 61, and with legs 56 and legs 57 or 58 resting on their respective supporting surfaces. In this condition the distance between the inner and outer brake beams 61 is less than the width of the car wheel. This distance is initially established and periodically maintained to compensate for wear, by appropriately positioning and locking levers 30 and 32 on their respective support members 48 by means of nuts 50.

Operation With the retarder constructed in the manner shown and described, when a car enters the retarder, the wheels of the car will force the brake beams apart. This separation of the brake beams will, of course, tend to cause levers 3t) and 32 to move laterally away from rail 10. Since movement of the levers in this direction is prevented, as previously explained, the levers pivot upwardly about their fulcrum points provided by hearing plates 60, and, in so doing, act through the support members 48 to raise rail 10 a distance which depends upon the original spacing between the brake beams, as determined by the adjustment of nuts 50, and which distance is proportional to the width of the car wheels. The raising of rail 10 lifts the car with it, and the Weight of the car then acts through the rail exerting a force on the levers which urges the brake beams into engagement with the opposite sides of the rim of the car wheels with a frictional force which is proportional to the weight of the car.

As previously indicated, an important advantage resulting from the construction of the present invention is that as the brake beams become worn through contact with the wheels, only a single adjustment, namely, that of the nuts 50, is necessary to compensate for this wear.

A second form of the retarder is shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10, which embodies the basic, underlying principles of construction and operation of the form of the retarder previously described.

In FIG. 8 a pair of levers 63 and 64, provided with brake beams 76 and 78, are shown which are identical in construction and which are positioned. on diametrically opposite sides of rail 10; The outer end ofv each lever 63 and 64 (not shown) is pivotally supported by its outer leg 58 resting on hearing plate 60 which is secured to the top of tie 20, with the inner base portion of each lever resting on thrust plate 52. Positioned between and in substantial alignment with the inner ends of levers 63 and 64, are rail brackets 65 which are rigidly secured, by fastening means 66 and 68, to the web portions on opposite sides of rail 10. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, each bracket 65 has a pair of spaced outwardly extending arms 65a and 65b, the free ends of which have axially aligned holes formed therein. Support members 72, shown mounted within the horizontal cavities of levers 63 and 64, are in the general form of eyebolts, and have a threaded outer portion 72a at one end and an eyelet portion 72!) at the opposite end. As illustrated in the drawings, the eyelet portion 72b of the support member 72 is milled fiat on the opposite sides of the opening, and is rotatably positioned between bracket arms 65a and 65b by means of a cylindrical shaped pin '70 which passes through the eyelet portion 72b and extends outwardly on both sides thereof into the axially aligned holes formed in arms65a and 65b.

In order to prevent any relative rotation between a support member 72 and the lever, in which it is mounted, the upper and lower surfaces of the eyelet portion 72b are milled flat as indicated at 720. In addition, the inner end of the horizontal cavity in the lever is generally cup-shaped in form with two opposing internal surfaces 74 of the cup. being correspondingly flat so as to receive in slide fitting engagement the flattened surfaces 720 of the eyelet portion of member 72. This arrangement and construction is best shown in FIG. 8, and serves to effectively key the support members and levers together to prevent their relative rotation.

The portions of this second form of the retarder which have not been. specifically described are substantially similar to the corresponding portions of the retarding apparatus shown in FIG. 3.

In addition, the operation of this retarder is similar to that described with respect to FIG. 3. Accordingly, when the wheels of a car enter the retarder shown in FIG. 8, pressing against brake beams 76 and 78, levers 63 and 64 are rotated about their fulcrum points on bearing plates 60 and pivot upwardly at their inner ends about pins 70, thereby raising rail 14 from the base of thrust plate 52. As a result of this arrangement and construction, the brake beams exert a force against the sides of the wheels which is proportional to the weight of thecar.

When it is desired to allow a car to pass through the retarder, described in either embodiment, without exerting any braking force against the car wheels, the running rail 10 may be raised by auxiliary apparatus, such as hydraulic jacks (not shown), to a height where the brake beams are spaced apart a distance which is greater than the'width of any of the car wheels passing through the retarder.

One practical application of the car retarding apparatus embodying the present invention is in a classification yard, specifically, at the ends of classification tracks which lead into one or more exit tracks, for the purpose of preventing cars from prematurely reaching the exit track. It should be understood, however, that the car retarding apparatus disclosed herein may also be employed in car dumper applications, or as hump retarders or group retarders in classification yards where the automatic retarding response is in accordance with the weight of the. moving car.

Although essentially only two forms of railway braking apparatus embodying my invention are shown and described herein, it is understood that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended clairns without departing from the. spirit and scope of the present invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. Railway braking apparatus comprising, a vertically movable track rail traversed by wheels of a railway car; a support member positioned on each side of the rail and pivotally connected thereto; a lever mounted on each.

of said support members, adjustable means for adjusting each lever relative to the rail and having a fulcrum point spaced from the rail; and brake beams mounted on each of said levers adjacent the rail and spaced apart less than. the widths of car wheels for exerting a force against the wheels proportional to the weight of the car.

2. The combination with a vertically movable track rail, of two support members disposed on opposite sides of the rail and pivotally connected to the rail, a pivoted lever mounted on each of'said support members, braking means carried by said levers and spaced apart a distance for frictionally engaging the wheels of a car traversing the rail and to cause the rail to lift whereby the frictional force exerted by said braking meansis proportional to the weight of the, car, and adjustablemeans.for holdingeach of said levers on its respective support member to establish predetermined spacing between said braking means.

3. In an inert car retarder of the weight responsive type in which pivoted levers are disposed on opposite: sides of a track rail and are respectively provided with wheel engagingtmeans for frictionally engaging the wheels of a car traversing the rail whereby the levers rotate due to the engagement of the wheel engaging means with each wheel to, move the rail vertically upwardly, the combination with each of said levers of a support member connected at one, end to the rail and extending internally of the levers and fastener means adjustably engaging the opposite end of each support member for securing each of said levers thereto in, an adjusted position which determines the amount of vertical movement of the levers.

4. The combination with a vertically movable track rail over which the wheels of a car move, of twosupport members disposed substantially normal to the rail and located on opposite, sides thereof, said support members extending beneath the rail and respectively including a portion gripping the opposite side of therail, said gripping portion of, said support members engaging the rail at spaced points along. the rail, and a pivoted lever mounted on each of said supportrnembersfor movementrela tive to the rail and disposed to engage the wheels of a; car in unison whereby the rail is raised during engagement of the wheels with said levers and the force exerted on the wheels is proportional to the weight of. the car.

5. The combination with an elevationally movable rail traversed by wheels of a railway car, of a pair of levers disposed on opposite sides of the rail and including brake. portions adapted to frictionally engage opposite sides of the wheels in unison, said levers having a portion spac d from the rail and pivotally mountedon asupporting base, each of said levers having a cavity extending therethrough essentially normal to the rail, a member extending through the cavity of each of said levers and engaging the rail to prevent lateral movement of said levers away from the rail during engagement of said brake portions with said 6. A car retarder associated with a vertically movable rail comprising a support member located on each side of the rail, said support members extending beneath the rail and being connected to spaced points on the opposite side of the rail, a pivoted lever mounted on each of said support members in interlocking relation to limit relative rotation of said levers and support members, and wheel engaging means on each of said levers for frictionally engaging the wheels of a car traversing the rail thereby lifting said rail and causing the application of braking forces on said wheels.

7. In combination with a vertically movable track rail traversed by wheels of a railway car, a support member disposed on each side of the rail and connected at spaced points to the rail, pivoted levers adjustably mounted on each of said support members for movement relative to the rail, keying means for interconnecting each lever with its associated support member to restrict relative rotation of said levers and support members, and wheel engaging means mounted on each of said levers for frictionally engaging the wheels of a car traversing the rail whereby the levers rotate upon engagement of the wheel engaging means with the wheels to move the rail vertically upwardly and apply a braking force against each wheel proportional to the weight of the car.

8. The combination with a vertically movable track rail, of two pivotally mounted levers disposed in staggered relationship to each other on opposite sides of the rail, said levers each including a brake member for frictionally engaging the wheels of a car traversing the rail and being spaced apart a distance less than the widths of car wheels, each of said levers having a cavity extending therethrough normal to the rail, a support member extending through the cavity in each of said levers and having a hooked portion at one end gripping the base of the rail, keying means on each of said members for interlocking with said levers to restrict relative rotation of said support member and levers, whereby when the wheels of the car traverse the rail the movement of the levers due to the engagement of the wheels with the brake members causes the brake members to exert on the wheels a frictional braking force which is proportional to the weight of the car.

9. The combination with a vertically movable track rail, of two levers arranged in staggered relationship to each other on opposite sides of the rail, said levers each including braking means for frictionally engaging the wheels of a car traversing the rail, said braking means being spaced apart a distance less than the widths of car wheels, each of said levers having a cavity extending therethrough normal to the rail, a support member extending through the cavity in each of said levers and connecting with the rail at points thereon separated by an intervening distance, an orthogonal face on each of said members cooperating with a receiving groove formed on one of the surfaces of the cavity in each of said levers whereby movement of said levers in the direction of wheel travel is prevented, and said levers including at least one pivotally supported leg so that said levers are free to rotate and raise the rail during engagement of said braking means with said car wheels.

10. The combination with an elevationally movable rail traversed by wheels of a railway car, of a pair of brackets secured to the opposite sides of the rail, support members disposed normal to the rail on each side thereof and hinge-coupled to said brackets, a pivoted lever mounted on each of said support members adjusting means for adjustably moving each lever laterally toward and away from the rail, a brake member mounted on each of said levers for frictionally engaging wheels of a car traversing said rail and being spaced apart a distance less than the widths of the car wheels, the brake members being forced apart by the wheels entering therebetween pivoting said levers so as to lift the rail vertically whereby a braking force is exerted on said car 8 wheels in accordance with the weight of the car, and retaining means secured to said support members for holding said levers thereon and for selectively adjusting the spacing separating said brake members.

11. In an inert car retarder including an elevationally movable track rail; brackets secured to, and on opposite sides of the rail; a pin mounted on each of said brackets and aligned thereon parallel to the rail, a support member hinge-coupled to each of said pins and disposed normal to the rail, a lever mounted movably on each of said support members and laterally adjustable toward and away from the rail and including a leg pivotally supported on a fulcrum point for angular movement of said levers about the axis of the fulcrum point, and wheel engaging means mounted on each of said levers for frictionally engaging the wheels of a car traversing the rail whereby the rail is shifted vertically to cause a retarding effect proportional to the weight of the car.

12. The combination with a vertically movable track rail, of two support members connected to the rail, each of said support members having portions extending beneath the rail and on opposite sides of the rail, a pivoted lever mounted on each of said support members, said levers having a plurality of leg portions spaced from said rail whereby the pivotal point of said levers may be preselected, braking means carried by said levers and spaced apart a distance for frictionally engaging the wheels of a car traversing the rail and causing the rail to lift whereby the frictional force exerted by said braking means is proportional to the weight of the car, and adjustable means for holding each of said levers on its respective support member to establish predetermined spacing between said braking means.

13. A car retarded associated with a vertically movable rail comprising a pair of support members connected to the rail, each of said support members having portions extending beneath the rail and on the opposite sides of the rail, a pivoted lever mounted on each of said support members in interlocking relation to limit relative rotation of said levers and said support members, a wheel engaging means on each of said levers for frictionally engaging the wheels of a car traversing said rail whereby lifting said rail and causing the application of braking forces on said wheels, said levers having a plurality of selective pivotal fulcrum points for adjustably controlling the braking force applied to said wheels.

14. The combination with an elevationally movable rail traversed by wheels of a railway car, of a plurality of pairs of pivoted levers mounted longitudinally along the rail, the levers of each pair disposed on opposite sides of the rail, said levers including brake portions adapted to frictionally engage opposite sides of the wheels, each of said levers having a predetermined one of a plurality of leg portions pivotally mounted on a supporting base for providing smooth entry of a wheel into said brake portions, each of said levers having a cavity extending therethrough essentially normal to the rail, a member extending through the cavity of each of said levers and engaging the rail to prevent lateral movement of said levers away from the rail during the engagement of said brake portions with said wheels, said levers rotating about said supporting bases when a wheel moves between said brake portions, said levers being forced apart to raise the rail and the car thereafter receiving a braking force proportional to its weight.

15. An inert weight proportional car retarder compris ing in combination with a vertically movable track rail which is traversed by the wheels of cars to be retarded, braking bars disposed on opposite sides of the rail and normally spaced apart less than the widths of car wheels, two levers for supporting said braking bars each pivotally supported at one end by a selected one of a plurality of pivot points and secured adjacent the other end to one of said braking bars and having a portion extending underneath said rail, each of said levers being provided in its lower portion with a through cavity, and two supporting bolts one extending through each cavity and each provided at one end with a portion in supporting relation to said rail and hooked over the flange of the rail and provided at the other end with a nut adjustment of which determines the position of the braking bars relative to the rail, the parts being so proportioned that separation of said braking bars by a car wheel Will raise said track rail causing the braking bars to frictionally engage the opposite sides of the car wheel with a force pro- 10 portional to the Weight of the car in accordance with a lever ratio determined by the selection of the points at which the levers are pivoted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,104,606 Bone Jan. 4, 1938 2,275,888 Clausen Mar. 10, 1958 2,858,907 Brown Nov. 4, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 144,033 Australia Oct. 31, 1951 

1. RAILWAY BARKING APPARATUS COMPRISING, A VERTICALLY MOVABLE TRACK RAIL TRAVERSED BY WHEELS OF A RAILWAY CAR; A SUPPORT MEMBER POSITIONED ON EACH SIDE OF THE RAIL AND PIVOTALLY CONNECTED THERETO; A LEVER MOUNTED ON EACH OF SAID SUPPORT MEMBERS, ADJUSTABLE MEANS FOR ADJUSTING EACH LEVER RELATIVE TO THE RAIL AND HAVING A FULCRUM POINT SPACED FROM THE RAIL; AND BRAKE BEAMS MOUNTED ON EACH OF SAID LEVERS ADJACENT THE RAIL AND SPACED APART LESS THAN THE WIDTHS OF CAR WHEELS FOR EXERTING A FORCE AGAINST THE WHEELS PROPORTIONAL TO THE WEIGHT OF THE CAR. 